Wolf Mother
by MissCrimsonSoul
Summary: After an eventful night in Number 12 Grimmauld Place, Hermione is left carrying a child. No one knows the father of the child apart from her. The father himself doesn't even know. What will happen when Miss Granger is left caring for a wolfish child?
1. Prologue

Prologue 

It was raining. The fog on the glass made it hard to see the outside world from where Hermione stood in one of the top rooms in Number 12 Grimmauld Place. The brunette witch could barely make out the shadow as it crossed the street and wouldn't have noticed it at all if the bright yellow hair didn't stand out against the black pavement of the street. Something was going on between Tonks and Remus, not that Hermione needed to watch the former disapparate from the street corner to know that.

Though they tried to do it quietly, Tonks and Remus had been arguing for a few days and the tension that had building up between them was thick enough to cut with a butter knife. From what Hermione could make of it, it sounded like they were arguing over marriage and children. Strangely, it was Remus who was ready to settle down and begin starting a family and Tonks felt like he was cornering her and trying to tie her down and she was just not ready for that.

Hermione let out a long breath and turned toward her door. No doubt Remus would be leaving to chase after Tonks and Hermione would be alone in the house once again. Harry and Ron were away on a two-month stakeout with the rest of their auror squad, the Weasleys were at home, probably asleep in their beds as it was rather late into the night, and all of the teachers that normally used the Order as a headquarters were too busy with the new term to even stop by to say hello.

Her feet landed softly on the stone stairs as she made her way quietly to the kitchen. She swiped away a few strands of hair that had fallen out of her messy bun and squinted her large chocolate eyes through the darkness. As she approached the kitchen door, she heard a cup crash to the floor and a muttered curse. Startled, Hermione took a few steps backward but, gathering herself once more, eventually made it to the door, pushing it open slightly. She peeked in and saw a form hunching over the sink, broken glass scattered all over the floor. Hermione knew almost immediately that the figure by the sink was Remus, without the flash of sandy blonde hair or scarred up arms.

Pushing the door open completely, Hermione stepped into the kitchen. The creak of the door caught the man's attention and he turned toward her, running a hand hastily through his hair in an attempt to make himself more presentable. Hermione could tell by the feeling in the air, however, that they cup had not accidentally fallen. The rigidity in the room was enough to let Hermione know that the wolf inside of Remus had taken temporary hold of his senses and he had slammed the cup down on the ground.

"Hermione…" managed Remus, his eyes following her to the spot on the ground where the cup lay shattered. He bent over quickly and began to pick up the larger pieces of glass.

"I heard a cup break…I was worried…" whispered Hermione, making her way hesitantly around the long table toward the older man to help him clean up.

"I'm sorry," he replied, ignoring the blood dripping from his fingers as he cut one. Noticing Hermione's slow, barefooted approach he looked up. "Stop." She did. "You aren't wearing shoes. You'll hurt yourself."

He threw the glass in his hands in a dustbin. Hermione picked up his wand from the counter where it lay, discarded. With a flick of her wrist the glass on the ground flew up and into the dustbin as well. Remus nodded slightly and turned to the sick to wash his fingers. He fumbled slightly with the faucet knobs, the blood on his left hand fingers making his grasp slippery. After letting warm water run over the injury for a few minutes, Hermione drew near to him and took his hurt hand in her own. She picked up his wand again and ran the tip of it over the cuts, watching as they seemed to zip up.

Hermione had finished her medi-witch apprenticeship six months prior and had taken up healing the injuries of those who were out fighting the war and stopped in at Grimmauld for a night. Her skills were seldom used as it seemed the Dark War had come to a slow patch and few tussles and casualties were reported. It had been two months since there had even been a sighting of Death Eaters. It was almost too quiet for the Order's liking but, with neither a tip or a trace as to where the enemy was, they could do nothing.

"Thanks…" muttered Remus, pulling his hand away.

"It's nothing," replied Hermione, sitting down in a chair by the table. A silence fell between them and Remus pulled out a chair as well, looking at the places on his hands where previously there had been bleeding wounds. After what felt like hours on quiet, Hermione opted to break the awkwardness.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Silence again.

"No," he whispered, his voice so quiet that Hermione almost had to strain to hear it. "It's the same as it always is. The only difference is…this time she isn't coming back." Hermione opened her mouth in distress but Remus silenced her by shaking his head. "I don't mean she isn't coming back here. She won't abandon us, Hermione. But she isn't coming back to me. I don't blame her and it's better this way. There is no common ground between us. I am old, she is young. She's carefree and I worry all the time. She is a metamorphmagus and I…I am what I am…"

He trailed off. Hermione reached across and placed her hand atop his where it sat on the table. He flinched slightly but did not pull away. He looked up into her face and chocolate eyes were met with amber ones and a conversation told place between them without any word needing to be said. He looked away abruptly and stood up from his seat, startling Hermione slightly.

"It's late," he said finally, turning toward the kitchen door that lead down to the cellar, which Remus had taken up as a home. He shuffled across the floor and Hermione made no move to stop him. She was unaware of his eyes darting to the window as the rain ceased and the clouds began to clear. "Good night."

"Good night," she replied, moving toward the counter on which sat the teapot.

She let out a long sigh as she heard the cellar door click shut. She was beginning to make herself a cup of soothing tea when something permeated her train of thought. At first she wasn't sure she had heard it and continued stirring the teabag in her cup. She lifted it to her lips to take a long draw when she heard a long, loud, heart-wrenching cry echo from the basement and it took Hermione less than a second to understand why Remus had excused himself so abruptly. She heard a body slam against a wall and winced. Normally she was in her room when the full moon rolled around, afraid to see, even hear the effect it had on one of her dearest friends. Upon hearing it, she was glad for that decision and wished that she were in her room at that moment.

A long, high, baleful howl ripped through the silence of the kitchen and Hermione nearly dropped her cup. She shivered as she could feel sadness rippling through her body as if that one vocalization had been all of the emotion escaping from Remus's body. There was another loud crashing sound. Hermione could tell now that he was slamming himself against the cellar door. Again. And again. The last time, he let out a yelp and she heard him fall to the floor.

"I can't take it!" she cried, getting to her feet and shuffling toward the cellar door.

Her feet took her down the long, cracked staircase and she could faintly make out the sound of whining that reminding Hermione of an injured dog, making her heart break even more. She wondered, briefly, if Remus would be mad at her for coming into the cellar when he was like this or if she was going to regret it. Before she could dwell on it anymore, her hand was on the knob and she was thinking on whether or not he would lock his door. She turned the knob and nearly jumped back when it opened to her.

The room was dark and she ventured in slowly, her eyes adjusting slightly to the small amount of moonlight that filtered in through a shaded window. Hermione nearly jumped out of her skin when the door slammed behind her. She could sense something behind her, feel the hot breath on her neck, and smell the scent of dominance and musk. Two large, clawed hands wrapped around her arms and lifted her off the ground. She tensed in his grasp and closed her eyes tightly as he turned her toward him. She was afraid, terrified, and wasn't sure what she had expected to begin with.

In an instant she was thrown up against the wall, harshly, a small cry emanating from her throat, though it sounded strangled. She felt his breath on her neck again as he took in her scent with a long draw. He seemed almost intoxicated by it. She felt him pull her away from the wall, a little more gently than he had forced her up against it, and pushed her down onto the bed that undoubtedly belonged to Remus. She ventured an eye open, her heart pounding and her knees quivering. She could make out the massive outline of the wolf above her, one hand holding him up against a wall as he surveyed her. His amber eyes glinted in the small amount of moonlight, though that was all she could make out of him.

And then he was upon her.

He was not terribly rough. His clawed hands, which were still very much hands though they seemed a bit calloused, gripped her sides as he pressed something against her leg. She gasped, knowing full well what it was and very startled by it. Her breath quickened slightly as she felt his claws grip the fabric of her shirt and rip it clean open, exposing her to him. She shivered violently and threw her head back as each of hands took a breast, caressing them slightly, squeezing them a bit too hard every now and then. He nuzzled his face into the crook of her neck for a moment as a hand trailed away from her chest and pulled her pajama pants and underwear away from her body as well. She cowered away from him for a moment and then felt him settling in behind her, his hands running over her shoulders and arms in an almost human gesture to comfort her. This amazed her as she had always known werewolves to be the violent kind. They took what they wanted, any way they felt necessary.

He maneuvered her onto her stomach, still rubbing her arms and back. After a moment of this, he took her hips with his hands, pulling her lower abdomen up and into the air. She could feel his hot member against her maidenhood and clenched her fists, gritted her teeth, and closed her eyes tightly as she felt him enter her roughly, tearing through her virginity rather savagely. She let out a long cry of agony, the blanket of the bed balled up in her fists.

The night continued on like this until his seed was planted in her and the workings of fate had begun.

**A/N: I know. Not detailed. Don't care. Not good at this. Will get better. Review.**


	2. Chapter One

•**Chapter One•**

**Chasing After The Moon**

It was raining again.

It had been two months after her encounter with Remus in his room in the cellar of Number 12 Grimmauld Place. She had managed to escape the room before Remus had woken up, as she did not want him to have even the slightest idea of what had happened. She was aware that there was blood on the sheets but she had seen Remus doing laundry after full moons before and there was always blood on the sheets. Surely he would think nothing of it this time.

She was amazed she had made it off the bed without waking him. Just sitting up had been exhausting to her as her limbs screamed in pain. Her heart stopped when she heard him groan and roll over as her hand hit the doorknob. He seemed to be fast asleep, though, and did not wake. She let out a quiet sigh of relief and then left the room completely. She had retreated to her own room where she had treated her achy joints and bruises with some magical cream, a bit relieved that there were no cuts or bites, and then lay in bed for an hour, just thinking, before finally falling into a sleep in which she did not wake until 1 PM the next day, worrying Remus slightly.

She kept a tight lip about the events of that night to herself and kept a good distance away from the cellar the next two full moons. She was sure that she seemed to be acting odd, always occupying her time with reading and making excuses for not being alone with Remus. She felt terrible, as she knew he was horribly lonely without Tonks but it hurt her so much just to look at him.

When three weeks had passed by and Hermione still hadn't had her monthly visitor, she became worried and left the house for a short period of time to make a trip to a Muggle convenience store and buy an old fashion pregnancy test. She wasted no time and, in the bathroom of that same convenience store, took the test…

Positive.

She stored the rest of the pregnancy tests in her purse and, a week later, tried again.

Positive.

And again a week later.

Positive.

Positive, positive, positive. Hermione was beginning to lose her mind with the thought of mothering a baby conceived when the father wasn't even in his right mind…or rather, his human mind. After a few more weeks of waiting, Hermione could bear it no more and scheduled an appointment with a Muggle doctor, knowing that if she did it in the Wizarding world, it would be all over the tabloids. Nothing stayed secret anymore and this was the most secretive way of going about it.

So there she was, one rainy day, sitting alone in a waiting room. Her foot tapped impatiently against the floor as she kept glancing at the clock. She wondered how she would explain it to Remus if it turned out that she was pregnant…and worse, how they would explain it to everyone else.

"'Oh, right, everyone. I'm about to have a baby. Not just any baby. A werewolf baby. Remus's baby to be exact. Oh, Ron, why do you look so surprised? Locked in a house with only one man for comfort can really mess with a woman's hormones…' Oh bloody hell, what have I gotten myself into?" she muttered to herself, burying her face in her hands.

"Hermione Granger!" called the nurse from a doorway, leading back into the doctors' offices. Hermione hastily got to her feet, smoothing her skirt slightly and then following the nurse to the back of the building. The nurse was quiet until they got to the room, which was their destination. She instructed Hermione to sit on the table while she went to fetch some paperwork. When she returned, Hermione was practically quaking in her seat.

"Relax, Miss Granger," soothed the nurse, patting Hermione's knee gently. "So, you're here for an ultrasound. We'll be bringing you to the room with the machine in a moment but we have to ask you a few questions first."

"A-alright," managed Hermione, her voice cracking slightly as she shook with nervousness.

"Have you been pregnant before?" asked the nurse.

"N-n-no…"

"Is this your first ultrasound?"

"Y-yes…"

"Have you had any previous complications with x-rays?"

"N…no."

"Righto. That's pretty much it. If you will follow me to the ultrasound room we'll begin right away." The nurse stood up from her chair and Hermione hopped down from the table and followed the woman out of the room.

They entered another. In this room there was a comfortable looking bed, a television set, and what looked to be a camera on a bar attached to a wall, though Hermione recognized it to be an ultrasound machine.

"Please lay down on the bed, Miss Granger," instructed the nurse. "Remove all clothing from your lower abdomen area so that no metal or other substances interfere with the ultrasound. The doctor will be in shortly to begin." Hermione nodded and the nurse left.

The brunette climbed up on the bed and shuffled her skirt down to her knees and pulled her shirt up so that it was just below her breasts. She made sure no other clothing was in the way and pulled the blanket up to cover her exposed thighs and any little scar that was in that area. The doctor came in and Hermione was quite relieved that it was a woman and that she seemed the kindly type.

"Good afternoon, Miss Granger," she greeted with a warm smile. "I hear we might be expecting." That one phrase was enough to wipe away whatever reciprocated smile was forming on her lips completely away and fill her with dread once again. The doctor, Dr. Thornbee, noticed the sudden change in attitude. "Not eager to be a mother?"

"Not really…"

"Please, forgive me for asking, do you know who the father is?" Thornbee asked.

"Yes. It's just, we aren't married and…well, it's just complicated. Please don't ask me to explain…" Hermione pleaded.

"Of course, dear," whispered the doctor, pulling something out of a drawer. She unscrewed the top of a container and began to smooth some kind of jelly on Hermione's stomach. "This is just in case there is something growing in there. We don't want to hurt it with the x-rays." Hermione nodded.

Once the ultrasound was underway, the doctor adjusted the television so that Hermione could see and Hermione watched as a very small black thing amongst all of the gray moved about. She could feel tears welling up in her eyes…

Positive…

Once the ultrasound was finished, the doctor escorted a very disheveled Hermione to the waiting room. The brunette witch cried the whole way, having to stop several times to gather her wits only to breakdown again a few more steps along. She paused just outside the waiting room to fix her hair and wipe her eyes. She shook hands with the doctor and thanked her, following her out into the waiting room.

"Hermione!" called someone from a chair in the waiting room. She looked up quickly and was met by the amber gaze of the one and only Remus Lupin.

"R-Remus! What…?"

"Is this the father?" asked the doctor, looking at Remus appraisingly.

"Father…?" questioned Remus, a bit shocked by the accusation. He seemed baffled and looked from the doctor to Hermione and then back. "I…Hermione, you…you're…?" He couldn't seem to get the words out and she didn't help him along. Without a word, Hermione turned and left the building completely, starting down the sidewalk to the spot she had apparated to so she could disapparate back to Number 12.

She was halfway down the sidewalk, the rain drenching her clothes and soaking her hair, when Remus caught up with her. She didn't bother to cast an rain-repellant charm as she had on the way to the doctor's office. She barely took notice when an umbrella was placed over her head and another warm body joined her. She glanced up after a moment and noticed that Remus seemed to want to say something but was keeping silence out of respect.

"Remus, I'm pregnant," she said finally, getting that out of the way. "If you want to say something, just say it. There is no reason to spare me."

"I…I'm just in shock…" he replied. "Can I ask who the father is?"

"…No."

"Alright," he murmured. "Can I ask how far along you are?"

"About three months…"

Silence.

"What were you doing at the doctor's office? How did you know I was there?" asked Hermione, her feet shuffling against the cement of the sidewalk.

"Someone tried to call Number 12 to confirm an appointment for today," he replied. "I was worried about you going alone but when I went to find you, you'd already gone so I decided to meet you there. You were already with the Muggle doctor when I arrived so I waited for you in the waiting room. I hope you aren't mad at me…"

"I'm not mad at you…confused…frustrated…mad at myself…but I am not mad at you. I'm glad you came. I couldn't trust myself to be alone right now." She bowed her head and crossed her arms over her body.

Remus stopped walking and Hermione stepped out from under the umbrella and into the rain again. Noticing his pause, she turned and looked at him as he turned his eyes on her. She always felt so restless under his amber gaze and the look on his face made it seem like he was searching her for answers but having little luck. Hermione took a few small steps forward so that she was shielded from the rain under the comfort of the umbrella once more. She turned her eyes away from his, afraid he'd realize too much just by looking at her. She flinched when she felt his hand on her shoulder, and raised her eyes a little to look at his comforting face.

"Hermione, you know if you ever need someone to talk to, I am here," he murmured, rubbing her shoulder a little and causing Hermione to shiver in the remembrance of how the wolf had done the same thing.

"I know…" Hermione replied, letting out a long sigh. "I just…don't want to talk about it to anyone. Would it be too much to ask that no one else finds out about…well…my predicament?"

"Of course I won't tell anyone," Remus replied, placing his hand on her back and moving along the sidewalk once more. "It's no one else's business but yours."

"Right…" Hermione whispered as they continued to the apparation spot.

Once they reached Number 12 again, Hermione walked into the lobby, sending a weary eye to the covered up portrait of Mrs. Black. Remus shook out the umbrella just outside the door and entered into the house quietly, as well. Silence dominated and Hermione could feel his eyes on her back. She didn't really know how she wanted to proceed. She didn't want to return to her room, as she had already spent a good amount of three months locked up in there, and the study just didn't seem as comforting as it always did. She looked down for a moment and then turned back to Remus.

"Tea?" she asked in a barely audible whisper.

**A/N: Okay, that's chapter two. What do you think? Not to shabby if I do say so myself. Review, review, and I will be very happy.**


	3. Chapter Two

•**Chapter Two•**

**Heaven's Gates and Hell's Bells**

The kitchen was filled with tension as Hermione and Remus entered. The door swung closed, quietly, behind them, and Hermione hurriedly went about searching for the kettle. Apart from the clanking of kitchenware, the room was deafly silent and both seemed to be trying to think of something to talk about that wasn't within the vicinity of Hermione's current state of being. Hermione was filling the kettle with water when Remus finally managed to come up with conversation.

"Bill and Charlie stopped by last night," he said, looking at his hand, which was splayed on the table. "It was late and I'd seen you walk upstairs earlier the evening so I assumed you were asleep. Charlie was bringing me another six bottles of Wolfsbane potion, and Bill dropped off a letter for you…"

Hermione looked up and over to the table. There was a small, baby blue envelope sitting in the center. As soon as Hermione has finished preparing the tea and set it on the stove to boil, she pulled out a chair a seat away from Remus, and picked up the letter. Her name was scrawled across it in neat, overly curly handwriting that Hermione recognized as belonging to Fleur. Hermione and Fleur were on better terms with each other since the start of the war. There couldn't afford to be bad blood between any of the order and it was surprisingly easy to get along with Fleur when she wasn't being nosy or overbearing.

Hermione turned over the envelope and gently lifted the flap from the inside, pulling out the tiny card, all covered in blue and pink ribbon and white lace. She read the front of it slowly and heaved a heavy sigh. She set it down on the table and looked up at Remus.

"It's an invitation to Fleur's baby shower," she told him, forcing a small smile, though she could feel some kind of emotion washing over her senses. Remus nodded and held out his hand, silently asking to see the card. The brunette witch placed the small card gently in his hand and watched him as he read it.

His amber eyes scanned the little writing on the card and his sandy blonde hair, still sprinkled with silver, which was beginning to grow long, hung in his face. The dim light of the kitchens cast shadows over his face, lighting up all of the scars and stress marks from the past. Even the bags under his eyes seemed more like suitcases. She wondered, briefly, why she hadn't noticed before just how tired he looked. He looked as if he hadn't slept in days. Not only did his face betray his fatigue, however, but also did his tussled hair and slightly unkempt appearance. She knew Remus to be a very clean-shaven man but he had five o'clock shadow, which was beginning to look more like eight o'clock shadow than anything.

When he finished reading the card, he handed it back to Hermione. He caught her eye and she could tell that he had caught her staring. He arched a brow, curiously, silently questioning her actions. She opened her mouth to speak, not quite sure of what she was going to say, when the tea kettle whistled, letting both of them know that the tea was ready. Hermione pushed her chair out, rather violently, and scurried over to the stove, pulling out a set of teacups on her way. Silence reigned, once again, as she began pouring the tea. She was filling Remus's cup when he spoke again.

"I wonder how Harry and Ron are doing," he said, looking out a window thoughtfully. "I haven't heard from them in a while. Am I right to be worried?"

"They go through the same motions every stakeout," replied Hermione, approaching the table with both of the teacups. She set one down in front of Remus and, instead of taking up her previous seat, took the chair beside the older man. "They are chatty about the mission in the beginning, not giving away too much, of course, and then they slowly simmer down. When the apex of the mission has occurred, they fail to contact home at all, and then they return home about a week later with smug looks on their faces." Remus laughed, shaking his head slightly. "They won't be gone to much longer, I suspect, and they always did like to show up without notice."

Remus chuckled again and Hermione looked into her tea. "Too true," was the werewolf's terse response. He shook his head, still smiling, and ran a hand distractedly through his hair.

Silence again.

Hermione took a long sip of her tea, soaking of the total lack of conversation, and, just as she always did in her spare time, her thoughts wandered and she began thinking about everything and nothing. It wasn't long before the thought of her pregnancy was brought to the forefront of her attention. She was pregnant. There was something growing inside of her. Not just any something but a baby. A baby who would probably never know its real father or the love of a whole family. A baby who would be forced to endure the suffering of an adult before it was even a year old. A baby who would be something it had had absolutely no choice in being…

Before long, Hermione was crying quietly. The tears were spilling from her eyes and landing in her tea and on the tabletop. She was sniffling and doing her best not to break down into large, shuddering sobs. She hoped that Remus wouldn't notice her emotional relapse but, as he had keener senses than any normal person, he could smell her salty tears and see her trembling shoulders. He set his tea aside and gathered Hermione into a hug. Her arms were quick to wrap around him as if she was afraid he was going to vanish and she buried her face in his shirt, letting the sobs loose. The teacup she had been holding in her hand had fallen to the floor, miraculously not breaking but spilling tea everywhere.

"Shh," cooed Remus, running his fingers through her hair in comfort. "Shh, Hermione, it'll be alright."

"N-n-no, it won't!" cried Hermione, her chest heaving rapidly as breaths hitched in her chest. "I-I can't b…be pr-pregnant! H-h-how will I break…break it to everyone? Th-they'll disown me…" She broke down into sobbing once more and Remus began to rub her back.

"They won't disown you, Hermione," whispered Remus. "Everyone loves you and we all just want to see you happy."

Hermione couldn't make another coherent sentence and so she just cried. An hour passed and soon Hermione's sobs subsided. She didn't release Remus's waist, nor did her let go of her. There was silence for what felt like the thirtieth time since they had arrived home but for the first time, it was neither awkward nor tense. It was calm and serene and Hermione felt at ease with her environment.

And then the front door opened. Loudly. 

"Get him in here!" shouted a voice that Hermione knew to belong to Alastor Moody. The wailing of Mrs. Black's portrait soon joined the ruckus of the people entering the house. "Oh, shut up you bleeding banshee! We don't have time for your damn antics! I said, shut the hell up!" Blasting could be heard from the lobby and Mrs. Black's shrieking was ended immediately.

Hermione was rushing to the door of the kitchen. Remus, too, was on his feet, cleaning up the cups before joining her. The brunette witch pushed the door open and saw that Moody was not alone. Quite the contrary in fact. It seemed that the lobby was filled with more than twenty other witches and wizards, many of which Hermione recognized and a few she didn't. They were all making their way to the stairs when one, Arthur Weasley, spotted her and Remus peeking out from the kitchen.

"She's down here!" called Arthur, getting Moody's attention.

The older wizard was already starting on the second flight of stairs, a rather grim, corpse-looking figure floating after him. He stopped abruptly, his foot hovering above the third stair and then looked down. He too spotted Hermione and, with a grimace, turned and started down the stairs once more. His wooden leg clunked against the stairs as he made his descent, the body still trailing after him.

"Miss Granger," he said gruffly. "We are in need of your assistance. Well, I'm sure you can tell that. Where would you like me to put him?"

"Er—" began Hermione, looking around frantically. "I'll prepare a bed in the parlor. Follow me."

She had meant just Moody and the unconscious person, but the rest of the witches and wizards also tailed her into the parlor. She transfigured the sofa into a hospital bed and gestured for Moody to lay the body on the bed, which he did quickly. She looked down at the figure for a long time. It was a man, not too much older than herself. His dark brown hair was matted with blood. His skin was pale which made his freckles stand out against his cheeks. His robes, which, as far as she could tell, had been white and green, were stained with dark blotches of red and black. A few of his fingers were at very sickening angles and, even through his robes, you could tell there were broken ribs.

"What am I dealing with here?" she asked Moody, trying to ignore the very many other stares she was receiving from various other people.

"Several bouts of the Cruciatus and a tumble down the stairs at Malfoy Manor," the old auror explained.

Hermione winced, getting to work and starting off by removing the man's robes. Once the robes were disposed of, Hermione could see plenty of injuries and shook her head. It wouldn't be hard to mend his broken bones and replenish his bloody supply but, by the look of him, she could easily see that he had cracked his head on his way down the stairs and there was chance of possible brain damage or hemorrhaging of his skull. That would be a little more difficult to men.

"Can I get a little bit of breathing room and privacy to do this?" she asked, rather snappishly. "No offense, but having so many other bodies in the room is causing a bit of contamination. I need this room to be sterile and that means all of the sweat and blood soaked robes and people need to leave."

Tonks, who was among the very many other witches and wizards assisted Hermione in removing all of the other magical people from the room, whispering a "Wotcher, 'Mione," from the doorway and winking at the brunette before her long, turquoise hair disappeared from the room as well. Hermione pulled out her wand, summoned all of her creams and potions from her room, and then locked the door and silenced the room.

The bones would have to be mended first. If there were bones protruding through the skin, then it would be a waste to replenish the blood or heal the cuts first. She reached for a bottle of Super Skel-E-Gro. It was her own personal formula, though she used the basic brewing method of Skel-E-Gro and so, had consented to selling the formula to the company with the assurance that she would be allowed to brew her own without an interference from them. Besides, "Super Skel-E-Gro" was much more efficient, painless, and less time consuming than its original model. In addition, it could also pop bones back into place in their were still present. There would be no need for a messy clean up and digging bone fragments out of this man's body.

Hermione tilted the man's head back a little, parting his lips with two of her fingers and pouring a cup full of the liquid down his throat. Just as she was screwing the cap back on, she began to hear the familiar popping sound of bones returning to place. The sound always made her shudder. It seemed, by the amount and length of the cracking sounds that more bones than she thought had been broken. The sound was deafening in the deathly quiet room and it tormented Hermione slightly to endure the sound. She shook her head after a moment and listened as the popping and cracking of bones began to diminish into little pops every now and then to eventually stopping all together. She had to admit she was relieved.

"Bones mended…check," she murmured, crossing it off on her mental list.

Before she healed the cuts and wounds on his body, should would need to check his head to see if the skull had been cracked, even though the Skel-E-Gro would have mended it. She knew a dandy spell that would tell her if the bone had been broken. And if it had been broken, she would need to look for internal bleeding in the brain. She sincerely hoped she would find none of these things, as it was never an easy or pleasant task in fixing those sorts of problems. She turned the mans head so that it was laying sideways. She waved her wand over his head, waiting to see a faint, light blue outline that would there her where the crack had been. There was none. She sighed in relief but did a neural scan anyway. She found nothing wrong with his brain and started to work on the cuts and scrapes among his body.

When she was finished cleaning up the man and doing all she could for him, she cast _enervate_ on him and watched as his chest began to heavy a bit more and his eyes fluttered open to expose their brilliant blue color. It took the man a moment to focus but soon he was scanning the room. Startled, he sat up, only to groan and fall back down. He rested a hand over his ribs, which were undoubtedly still sore, and looked at Hermione.

"I would ask if I were in heaven, for seeing such a beautiful angel, but it seems I'm still alive," he muttered, and Hermione's face turned slightly pink. "At least, I can presume so with this stabbing pain in my torso?"

"Yes, you are still alive," replied Hermione. She smiled at him. "It seems you took a nasty fall down some stairs. You were brought here and placed in my care, Mr…um?"

"Thistle. Aveon Thistle," he stated, holding out his hand to be shaken. Hermione took it gently.

"Hermione Granger," was her response.

"Ah, so you are the lovely Miss Granger that I have heard so much about," Aveon said with a smirk, still rubbing his affronted ribs. "Messrs. Potter and Weasley have told me quite a bit concerning your adventurous school days."

Hermione chuckled and looked up at the clocked. She had gotten back from the doctor's office at a little past two, Moody and the rest had arrived around four, and it was almost eleven. She stood up abruptly and waved her wand at the door, unlocking it and removing the silencing charm. She looked down at Aveon and smiled again.

"I've been cooped up in here for the better part of seven hours. I'm sure everyone is worried," she explained to him as she caught his curious stare. "Besides, I'm quite sure Moody would like to have a word with you. I'll just go fetch him. Have a good evening. I'm sure I'll see you in the morning, Mr. Thistle." With that, she disappeared out the door.

She wasn't sure where to look for Moody but the kitchen seemed to be the best starting place. She moved toward the door and pushed it open a little to peek in. Once the door was cracked open, sound flooded out. Tonks was yelling and that was never a good thing. She sounded distressed, angry, and sad and that made Hermione feel a little bad for listening in.

"No, Remus! No, no, no, no!" yelled Tonks. "I already told you, I love you but I'm not ready for that much of a commitment! Children? Remus, I'm still a child in a sense! I'm not ready to settle down and have kids! I'm not ready to settle down! I still have a lot of things I haven't done; I'm not ready for kids, or marriage, or even a commitment right now! Please understand, Remus, I just can't be with you or anyone right now! I want to have fun and live my life while I can. For all I know," she paused to take a breath, "I might die tomorrow, or next week! I might never die, for all I know, but I want to live life, not spend all my days breast feeding or changing diapers…"

"Tonks, I know…I…" Remus spoke up. He seemed to be looking for the words, but he wasn't succeeding. After a moment of silence, he let out a long sigh. "Fine. Go. This conversation is over and we have nothing left to talk about."

"Remus…I hope this won't interfere with out professional or friendly relationship," whispered Tonks.

"Of course not," murmured Remus.

Hermione backed out of the kitchen. She'd heard too much as it was and was a little startled by how loud Tonks could yell. She was turning to look in the study for Moody when she felt a firm hand on her shoulder. She jumped and came face to eye with none other than Mad-Eye Moody. She was a bit surprised at how she hadn't heard him coming with his clunking peg leg.

"You startled me, Alastor," breathed Hermione. She had only just gotten over called Moody 'professor' as he had always been telling her that he wasn't much of a professor as it was and to start calling him by his given name. Calling him 'Mad-Eye' just hadn't seemed right and 'Moody' wasn't much better, so she had vouched for his first name and that had fit just fine.

"A word, Hermione, if you please," inquired Moody gruffly. Hermione felt her stomach tighten nervously.

"I—of course," she replied and she was pulled away to a large cupboard just beside the large staircase.

Once they were safely inside it, he locked the door and soundproofed the room. He cleared his throat and Hermione took to taking in the cupboard in the dim light. He fidgeted around a little, being sure that no one else could have hidden somewhere inside it and then began to speak.

"Hermione," he began, giving her a stern look, though his bright blue eye swiveled about in its socket, "when were you planning on notifying us of this…new arrival?" He patted her stomach gently and Hermione's muscles tensed painfully. "Or were you going to inform us at all?"

"How—what?" spluttered Hermione, covering her stomach protectively.

"The eye sees all," he replied in a faux-grim voice, pointing to the eye, which seemed to be testing how fast it could spin without popping out. "Even the tiny thing inside of you."

"I-I…what?" repeated the brunette, slightly put off and terrified that someone apart from herself, the doctor, and Remus knew about her little predicament.

"Oh, come off it, girl," laughed Moody. "Are you really so surprised? If Dumbledore were here, he'd probably throw you a baby shower." Hermione laughed a little.

"He always did know everything…" she breathed, running a hand through her already tousled hair. "I was not planning on telling anybody, no. Remus knows but that's only because someone called Number 12 to verify the appointment and he picked up. He decided to check it out, the little snoop." Hermione was still smiling but it soon disappeared. "Can I…trust you to keep it a secret?"

Moody sighed. "Yeah, but you won't be able to hide it forever," he said roughly. "Better be prepared to tell everyone because someone, most likely Molly or young Miss Weasley will find you out in the long run."

"I know," she whispered, placing her hand on the doorknob and preparing to leave. "Oh, and Mr. Thistle is awake. I was coming to find you to tell you but I got a little…sidetracked." She pushed the door open and exited, Moody in tow. She stared toward the study and Moody started for the parlor, both followed by jeers of "'Mione, c'mon now! Moody?" from Mundungus.

**A/N: I like this chapter. It's long…well, sorta. Anyway, thanks for all the great reviews. I wasn't really sure how people would take to the story. Thanks everyone. Please review to this chapter as well.**


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